The Connection “Let It Rock”

If there ever was a power pop band that oozed coolness out of its pores it would be The Connection. This new full length LP hits the ground running with the mint single “Wrong Side of 25,” chock full of classic guitar riffage. The band’s sound has continued to define the edge half way between The Beatles and The Stones. Its un-apologetically retro, and they relish every note.

Another “radio-ready” hit is “She’s A Keeper” with an unbeatable hook that rivals The Wonders “That Thing You Do.” It then shifts the key to a surf styled “The Way Love Should Be,” and then blasts those guitars on “Crawling From The Wreckage (Of A Saturday Night).” A country-styled shuffle leads “Susan” and the tempo slows down for the garage psyche “Haze” and “Not How It’s Gonna Be.” Even the umpteenth version of “Johnny B. Good” sounds fresh as the title track. No filler here, and lead singer Brad Marino and guitarist Geoff Palmer hit it out of the park. It deserves a spot on your top ten for 2013, its definitely on mine.

Thanks for the great review. I especially like the Beatles/Stones comparison. It’s a great point. Many Connection songs sound like a hybrid between the two bands. Moreover, had this album been released in 1968 or 1972 it would have fit right in with the best of those two bands.

I also like the comparison with The Wonders. Another great insight. And true. Except The Connection have a harder edge.

A couple small points: I think the reviewer meant to write UNapologetically retro; the band aggressively embraces the Beatles/Exile-era Stones sound. And the title track, of course, is Chuck Berry’s Let It Rock, not Johnny B. Goode.

Last point; no mention of Girls In This Town? It’s a sweeping, swaggering tour de force, arguably the best song on the album. And I’m hearing that it’ll be another Coolest Song in the World on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, which would make it The Connection’s FOURTH song to be so honored (after Seven Nights to Rock, Comes and Goes, and Crawling From The Wreckage Of A Saturday Night–not to mention I Think She Digs Me from the Seven Nights EP; not a Coolest Song, but one that’s been played about 300 times on the Underground Garage).